Akoum Firebird
Creature — Phoenix
Flying, haste
This creature attacks each combat if able.
Landfall — Whenever a land you control enters, you may pay 
. If you do, return this card from your graveyard to the battlefield.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- mythic
- Set
- Battle for Zendikar
- Price
- $0.38
- EDHREC rank
- #17537
Akoum Firebird hits for 3 in the air and recurs itself from the graveyard whenever a land enters — the engine is real, but the six-mana resurrection cost means you need dedicated land-drop support to actually trigger it. In Syrix, Carrier of the Flame builds it pulls double duty as a recursive threat that keeps fueling the Phoenix-matters payoffs, which is the one context where it earns its slot.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Syrix, Carrier of the Flame
Syrix, Carrier of the Flame pings opponents whenever a Phoenix enters the battlefield, so Akoum Firebird's self-recurring loop turns every fetchland or extra land drop into both a board presence and a free damage trigger — the two cards are functionally designed for each other.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Akoum Firebird is a Commander card through and through. In competitive 60-card formats — Modern, Pioneer, Legacy — a 3/3 flyer that costs four and needs a land drop to recur can't compete with the speed or efficiency those formats demand. Commander is where the recursion clause actually matters: slower games, more land ramp, and Phoenix-tribal commanders like Syrix, Carrier of the Flame turn the self-return into a repeatable resource rather than a win-more clause. Outside that specific Commander niche, leave it on the shelf.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.38 bulk tier
At $0.38, Akoum Firebird sits firmly in bulk territory — it's a throw-in card for Phoenix tribal builds, not a spec target. Bulk rares with narrow Commander applications don't tend to climb unless a new commander pushes the archetype, so treat it as a cheap role-player and nothing more.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.